Patagonia Zen

Goodbye palm trees, hello penguins! One hour after getting off the plane in Punta Arenas (way down south in Chile), we found ourselves racing down a dirt road in a private taxi in order to glimpse the penguins on the last day before the park closed. 9,900 of their buddies had already left, but we got to get up close and personal with the friendly few (about 100) who remained to pose for our cameras- they sang and waddled for us as a bonus! We were surprised to see flamingos and a type of ostrich all within a few hundred yards of the penguins as well!

The next day we zoomed for the mountains that have been calling our name- Las Torres del Paine. The bus took us to an alpine lake where we boarded a catamaran with a handful of other trekkers. We sipped on bottomless hot chocolate while gazing admiringly at the glorious mountains, waterfalls, and sunset spread before us. We arrived at our first refugio- a backpacker´s lodge complete with good views, hot showers, hot food, and a pleasing wine selection- wow! Day 2 we laughed out loud with disbelief while hiking along a narrow trail through terrain unlike any we´ve seen before. The trees and bushes appear to have been transported from a Japanese zen garden, which reflects how they make you feel while walking among them. Soon we had a fantastic view of lakes with floating blue icebergs and Grey´s Glacier spread across the horizon. We walked further to the closest viewing point to eat lunch and stare peacefully at the icy abyss coming through the mountains and into the lake. When we got too cold to stay any longer, we made the 3.5 hour walk back to the hot fireplace, cold beer, and a generously donated bottle of Chilean wine (provided by Gil, our awesome roommate).

Day 3 was brutal but beautiful! We carried our full packs for about 4 hours of the hike to the next hostel, but in between we ditched them and hiked up the Valle Frances. We ignored the constant drizzle of rain and clouds obscuring the mountains and continued to walk through magical forest on a quest to see the unseeable. Just as we made our way towards the mirador (lookout), the skies began to part and we could begin to see the most impressive panoramic display of rocky walls and spires we have ever seen (including the twin to Spearhead in Colorado!). One of them looks like a cake with black horns (cuernos) on top- and is featured on the label of the beer they serve down here. We really took our time that day- we spent about 11 hours on the trail partly because it was too beautiful to rush, and partly because we were getting too sore to walk any faster.

Day 4, we woke up to rain that had persisted all through the night. This made for a wet start and a very big river crossing that was perilous but fun. With no option for walking around the torrents of water, we decided to crawl our way through the glacier water in sandals- it took hours (almost) for our toes to thaw afterwards! The sun did come out and we enjoyed the totally different terrain (open fields of low bushes and pale blue lakes with condors soaring above). That night we enjoyed the atmosphere of our favorite refugio in the company of many stellar traveler friends including Miranda and Jim from Hawaii as well as Father-daughter team Clive and Jeannie with Rose from New Zealand, and a beautiful French couple. They also became our cheering squad for what we decided to do next...

Day 5 started at 3:45am when we awoke to discover stars visible in the night sky. That was our code to launch out for the trail and attempt a sunrise visit to the rocky summit. Ten minutes after take-off, however, a torrential icy wind brought pounding rain into our faces. Not having rain pants, we were immediately soaked to the bone and wondering if we were out of our minds. But the promise of a good adventure made us keep going and we walked as if in a trance for the next 3 hours over bridges, under tree canopies, and through changing weather. Again as we reached the mirador, the skies parted and Cullen started running on all fours up the steep boulder field in a race against the sun (and that is how we scored the photo above- what a man- I love him!) We celebrated the heavenly view for all of 5 minutes before the clouds returned to spit wind and snow at us. We were frozen but happy and made the last trek back to the refugio with all smiles.

We are definitely going to have return again one day to this mountainous masterpiece of nature! Next stop is El Calafate and El Chalten in Argentina (mountain towns further north in the Patagonia with more backpacking and glacier gazing). Thanks so much for visiting our blog and keeping in touch!!!!!! Love, M & C